Egg Stuffed Avocados

I love, absolutely love avocado. A few years ago, the only thing I would have eaten avocado in is guacamole, or inside of a burrito or taco if a restaurant served it that way. Now I sometimes just eat it with sea salt and cilantro for a snack. An even better way to eat it? With an egg baked in the middle! It then combines two favorites; avocados AND breakfast!

Ingredients:

2 avocado
4 eggs
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Cilantro (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and place a wire rack inside of a pan (I used a cookie sheet). Cut each avocado in half and remove the pits. Scoop out about 1 tablespoon from the inside of each hole where the pit was, and either save for guacamole or another recipe, or enjoy a quick snack while making these... Crack open one egg into a small bowl and carefully pour the egg into an avocado hole. If some of the white spills out, that's okay, that is why the sheet is underneath! Repeat for the remaining eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Top each egg with about 1-2 teaspoons of shredded cheese. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the egg yolk is the consistency you want, and especially until the whites are no longer runny. Let cool slightly before serving, and topping with cilantro!

Gouda Chicken and Egg Sandwich

This sandwich is such an odd combination, but it works so well! The shredded Gouda melted on the chicken combined with the hot mustard and cooked egg makes for one of the best combinations in a sandwich that I have tried so far. My husband also absolutely loved it!

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, butterflied and cut in half
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. shredded Gouda cheese
Romaine lettuce
2 eggs, cooked over-hard
2 Pita bread halves
1 Tbs. Miracle Whip, light
1 Tbs. sweet hot mustard

Heat a saucepan at medium heat. Season both sides of each half chicken breast. Place in the pan for 3 minutes, flip over and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked (it won't take long since the chicken is butterflied). Sprinkle each piece of chicken with 1/4 c. shredded Gouda and place the lid on top. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted. To assemble the sandwich, cut each pita half again in half. Spread 1/2 Tbs. of Miracle Whip on two pita halves, and the mustard on the other two pita halves. To assemble, place an egg on top of the mustard on the pita. Top with the chicken breast half, romaine lettuce, and then the pita top with the Miracle Whip.

Broccoli Feta Quiche

Who needs pie crust for quiche when you have potatoes? This quiche recipe is great for a side dish or for breakfast. Feta and broccoli is one of my favorite combinations and in this dish, that is no exception!

Ingredients:

20 oz. Simply Potatoes, Garlic & Herb Hash Browns
1/4 c. feta cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 c. All Whites, liquid egg white
10.8 oz. broccoli cuts (Steamfresh), cooked and drained

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a quiche pan with non stick cooking spray and press the hash browns into the bottom of the pan. Top with the feta and broccoli, salt and pepper. Pour the egg whites over everything and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheese Strata

This is one of the best breakfast dishes I have made in the slow cooker, hands down. My husband and I absolutely loved it. It is cheesy, stuffed with broccoli, and tastes like a cross between an omelet and breakfast casserole!

Ingredients:

2 c. broccoli florets, cooked and drained
4 slices bread (I used Brownberry Extra Grainy 17 grains and seeds)
1 Tbs. salted butter
1 c. shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 c. milk, 1%
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. water

Spray a 1 quart casserole dish that fits inside of your slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Arrange 2 slices butter side up in your casserole dish.

Layer cheese, broccoli and remaining 2 slices of bread, buttered sides down.

Whisk the milk, eggs, egg whites, seasonings and hot sauce in a medium bowl and pour over the bread.

Place small wire rack on the bottom of the slow cooker (or if your dish fits like mine and is elevated, you don't need to add the rack). Pour the water in the bottom of the slow cooker and place the casserole inside your slow cooker. Cover, and cook on high for 3 hours. Let cool slightly, slice, and serve!

Over Easy Tortilla Pie for Two

I found another glorious way to make eggs for dinner...... I just can't get enough of them, for any meal. We have jalapeno pickled eggs for snacks, quiches and over easy for dinner, omelets or a casserole for breakfast, I just love eggs. This is a great easy and fun way to serve up a fairly healthy meal, or snack, for two people. If you are serving it as a meal though, I suggest adding a fruit salad or some hash browns on the side!

Ingredients:

1 burrito size tortilla shell
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
3 or 4 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, reduced fat
2 slices deli turkey, chopped
4 eggs
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper
*hot sauce (optional)

Spray a quiche pan or round cake pan with non stick cooking spray. Place the tortilla on the bottom. Layer the green pepper, tomatoes, cheese and turkey on top. Gently crack each egg open into a small bowl, and one at a time, place each raw egg on top of the other ingredients. Season with fresh cracked pepper, salt and hot sauce. Heat the oven to broil. Set the dish under the broiler on high for 2 to 3 minutes until the egg whites are cooked and the cheese is melted.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients:

2 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 c. Panko
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top. Spray the rack with non stick cooking spray. Mix the oil and Panko in a bowl. Add in the cornmeal, Parmesan, and seasonings and stir everything together well. Dip the tomato slices in the whisked eggs, dripping the excess back off.

Press the breading mixture on each side of the tomato and place on the rack. Repeat until all of the slices were breaded. Bake for 20 minutes, turn over and bake an additional 20 minutes until golden brown on the outside.

Remoulade Sauce:

1/4 c. Miracle Whip, light
1/4 c. mustard
1 Tbs. paprika
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
2 tsp. horseradish, creamy
1 tsp. dill pickle juice
1 tsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine the ingredients above in a small bowl. Drizzle on top of the warm fried green tomatoes, or serve in a bowl on the side. As with many things, I added an over easy egg on top!

Yukon Gold Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-2 inch cubes and boiled until soft
3 eggs, hard boiled
1/4 c. light Miracle Whip
1 Tbs. sweet and hot mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1 c. chopped dill pickle
1 tsp. fresh chopped dill
Paprika for garnish

Combine the miracle whip, mustard, garlic salt, celery salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the pickle, dill and potatoes until well combined. Chop two of the hard boiled eggs and gently stir into the potato salad. Add a sliced boiled egg on top and garnish with paprika.

Spicy Farmer's Casserole

Casserole's are always comforting as the weather starts to get colder in the fall. The best part is that you can make this up the night before and re-heat before you eat! The spicy potatoes go great with the sweet green pepper and ham. Better yet? This recipes is Weight Watchers friendly!

Ingredients:

20 oz. Simply Potatoes Southwest Hash Browns
3/4 c. shredded Marble Jack cheese
1 c. diced cooked ham
2 sliced green onions
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 c. liquid egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 2 quart square baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Spread the potatoes out in an even layer. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and sliced green onion. Add the diced ham and green pepper. In a large bowl, whisk the milk, egg white, salt and pepper together. Pour on top of the ingredients in the casserole. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

(Makes 6 servings, 4 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving)

Spinach Feta Bulgur with Shaved Carrots and an Over Easy Egg

Ingredients:

3/4 c. bulgur wheat
2 scallions, greens thinly sliced
1 red chili pepper, seeds removed
2 oz. spinach
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped
1 lime
1/2 c. feta cheese
1 carrot
2 eggs, over easy

Fill a medium pot with water and 1 tsp. sea salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the bulgur wheat and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 25 minutes, drain, and place the bulgur back into the pan. Cover and set aside.

Chop the spinach and chili pepper and add to a medium mixing bowl. Add the chopped scallion and parsley, reserving a small amount of parsley for later. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl with the vegetables. Add 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients in the bowl together. Add in the cooked bulgur wheat and the feta cheese and again, mix everything.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the outside of the carrot. Divide the bulgur mixture into two serving dishes. Shred the carrot into ribbons. Divide the carrot into two equal parts and place on top of the bulgur. Top each with an over easy egg. Sprinkle the egg with the reserved parsley.

Soy Sake Eggs

Hard boiled eggs, soaked in soy sauce and sake? These eggs give off a slight kick for sure, and go great in an Oriental salad or as is with some fresh cracked pepper.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 c. sake
1 Tbs. sugar
4 eggs (hard boiled)

In a medium size mason jar, add the soy sauce, sake and sugar. Place the lid on and shake to combine the ingredients. Peel the eggs and rinse under cold water to make sure all of the egg shell pieces are gone. Add the hard boiled eggs into the jar and place the lid back on top. Refrigerate for at least an hour. You can store these already-made for up to 5 days.

* If you would rather boil the eggs than using my method of baking them in the oven for 30 minutes, that would work also. I add the eggs to a pot of cold water, and set on high heat. I let them boil for 10 minutes, and then remove from the heat and let cool for five. By then, you should be able to rinse in cold water and easily remove the shell.

Easter Eggs, the edible kind!

Many people dye Easter Eggs, as in the hollowed out shells, on a yearly basis. They usually end up looking really pretty, however, why not dye some that you can actually eat?! This recipe to make dyed Easter eggs (devilish ones....) bring some color to your table and taste delicious!

Ingredients:

12 Hard Boiled Eggs
Various colors of liquid food dye
4 tsp. white vinegar
Water

Peel your hard boiled eggs, rinse them to make sure there is no remaining shell, and set aside. I decided to do four different colors. To each bowl, I added 1 tsp. white vinegar, about 2 cups water, 1 drop food coloring, and two hard boiled eggs, peeled and whole. Let them soak for about 15 minutes, turning over half way through to let the other side soak in the color. After 15 minutes, cut each egg in half and scoop out the yolk into a small bowl. Place the egg halves back into the same color, cut side down for five minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling for your deviled eggs. To mine I added the yolk, 1 Tbs. yellow mustard, 1 Tbs. course ground mustard, and about 1/4 c. light Miracle Whip and mixed in a food processor until the filling was smooth (you can add more Miracle Whip or mustard depending on how thick you want the filling). Add the mixture to a piping bag with your tip of choice (or you can spoon this to make things easier).

Line a paper towel, folded over in half, on a flat work surface. Take out the egg halves and let the vinegar water drain slightly before filling. Pipe the filling into the center of each egg and place on your serving platter. Colors will vary depending on how much dye you use, how dark the dye is, and how long you let the eggs sit.

Scramble with Ramen Pancakes

Are you ready for the WEIRDEST (well, pretty weird) combinations of ingredients put together ever?! This breakfast of randomness is so weird sounding but so delicious! If you don't have ramen noodles, you can substitute with spaghetti or fettuccine or angel hair, any kind of long skinny noodle.

Ingredients:

1 bundle of ramen, boiled for 4 minutes and drained
1 green onion, chopped
3 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
3 multi colored mini sweet peppers
3/4 c. liquid egg whites, scrambled

Parmesan Sauce:

1 Tbs. Parmesan
1 Tbs. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 1/2 c. shredded Pepper-Jack cheese
2 Tbs. margarine
1/4 c. sour cream, light
Salt and Pepper
1 green onion, chopped

In a small saucepan, melt the margarine. Add the shredded cheese and sour cream and stir continuously until the cheese is melted. Add in the Parmesan, hot sauce, green onion, salt and pepper. When everything is well combined remove from the heat and add in the cooked ramen.

Heat a medium sized skillet to medium high heat and spray with non stick cooking spray. Pour the ramen Parmesan combination into the pan. DO NOT STIR! Wait 3 or 4 minutes until the bottom of the pasta is golden brown. Flip the entire noodle "pancake" (use spatula's if you need to) and continue to cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until that side is also golden brown. Transfer to a flat work surface and let cool slightly before cutting into four equal sections.

To assemble, place two ramen pancake triangles on your serving plates. Top each with the scrambled egg whites. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon, green onion, and multi colored bell pepper. It will look weird, I won't lie about that part. But it is worth the oddness of it all! If you like an extra kick, add more hot sauce on top! The Parmesan sauce that is in with the noodles does have a pretty big kick though so add more with caution.

Egg White, Avocado and Spinach Sandwich (Panara Bread inspired)

Warning, this breakfast sandwich is CRAZY messy with the mashed avocado, but it is a very delicious mess! This recipe makes two sandwiches.

Ingredients:

2 bagel thins (Shown in the picture are Thomas' everything bagel thins)
1/2 c. 100% liquid egg whites
2 slices of tomato
Spinach leaves, small handfull
1/2 avocado, mashed
2 slices reduced fat Swiss cheese
Yellow Mustard
Butter spray

Heat a small saucepan to medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the egg whites in and let cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes (without touching! These are not scrambled!). Flip the egg whites over to cook the other side for less than a minute. Remove from the heat, set aside and cut into 4 equal pieces. Meanwhile, spray the bottom slices of the bagel thins with the butter spray. On top of the butter, add around 8 spinach leaves to both. Top the spinach with 1 slice of the Swiss, two "slices" of the egg whites, and 1 slice of tomato. Drizzle the tomato with the mustard. Finish with spreading half of the avocado mash on the inside of both top bagel thin slices and place on top. Heat a grill pan to medium heat. Place both sandwiches on the grill pan and add a weight on top to press them down. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then flip the sandwiches over. Let cook for another 2 minutes or so and remove from the heat. Let them cool slightly before serving.

 (Each sandwich is 7 Weight Watchers Smart Points.)